Territory



I (No Model.) v

. L. BOYNTON.

MAIL BAG.

No. 570,899. Patented-Nov. 10,- 1896.

M+ =ZWIIII In" l i m l m I ll, Mum nul'hnlli NIH! Wllnlll y l Z UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED L. BOYNTON, OF KINGFISHER, OKLAHOMA TERRITORY.

' MAlL-BAG.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,899, dated November10, 1896.

Application filed November 25, 1895. Serial No. 570,111. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRED L. BOYNTON, of Kingfisher, in the county ofKingfisher, in the Territory of Oklahoma, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Mail-Bags, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improved fastening for the mouth of a mail bag orsack. The fastening is distinguished by the ease and rapidity with whichit may be manipulated for closing or opening the bag, and by itssecurity and durability.

The construction and arrangement of the parts constituting my improvedfastening are as hereinafter described, and shown in accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the top portion of a mailsack or bag provided with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan view; Fig. 3,a detail view of the sack or bag with flap open; Fig. 4, section on line4 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line 5 5, Fig. 1; Fig. 6,a perspective view illustrating the manner ofapplying the fastening andclosing the sack. Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a modification ofthe strap.

I will first describe the preferred form of the invention shown in Figs.1 to 6.

The bag or sack A has a folding flap B, which is provided with a row ofholes 1, through which project bolts 2, secured to and. projecting fromthe front side of the sack near its upper edge. Said bolts 2 haveenlarged spherical heads and pass through the front of the sack and alsothrough washers 3, on the inner one of which they are riveted.

There are two duplicate fastening-straps C O, which are permanentlyattached to the back of the bag A at such points that when folded theylie on the body of the flap B, Fig. 1, parallel to its lower edge and inalinement with the row of bolts 2. That portion of each strap 0 thatthus lies on the front of the flap B is provided with a centrallengthwise closed slit or slot 4, which is enlarged at 5, adjacent tothe free end of the strap. The sides of this slot 4 are bordered by aseries of thin alined metal plates 6, which are secured to the straps bymeans of rivets. As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, there is a back plateopposite each front one.

The plates of each pair on opposite sides of the slit 4 are connected byone or more rigid metal bridge pieces or arches 7, which are preferablyconstructed of a wroughtmetal rod, whose ends are inserted through bothplates and strap and riveted.

The ends of the plates 6 are separated from each other by a narrowspace, which permits the strap 0 to be bent at such points as requiredto give the strap due flexibility.

The arches 7 hold the opposite plates from spreading apart, and yetpermit the bolts 2 to pass beneath them. It will be noted the terminalplates are not slotted entirely through, and are hence so rigid that abridge or arch 7 may be dispensed with as to them.

The adjacent ends of plates 6 may be loosely connected by links 8, asshown, but they are in some cases dispensed with. They serve to preventthe strap O becoming unduly stretched.

The operation of securing the sack-flap B by my fastening is as follows:The flap being folded over the front edge of the body of the sack A, thespherical heads of the bolts 2 pass through its holes 1. Then to applythe straps O O, the free end of each is grasped and held, one in eachhand, so that the enlargement of the slot 4 may receive the head of theouter bolt, then the next, and so on, as the straps are drawn togethertoward the center of the flap B. In this operation the shanks of thebolts 2 pass successively into the slot 4 and beneath the arches 7, aswill be readily understood, until the free end plate of each strap 0 maybe passed over the staple 9, that is riveted to the front of the sackand projects through-a slot '10 in the same. The free ends of the twostraps O 0 thus lie oneover another, and a pad lock 11 is then attachedto the staple 9,which completes the fastening, as shown in Fig. 1. Itwill be noted that the closure of the bag is thus effected practicallyby two movements, one being the folding of the flap B and the other thedrawing of the. straps into place.

The flap B is held securely by the heads of the bolts 2, since they areof greater diameter than the width of the slot 4 and lie in contact withthe opposite inner edges of the plates 5. To open the sack, the padlock11 being removed, the free ends of the straps O O are lifted off thestaple and held turned up asbefore, say at a right angle, and pushedlaterally or from each other, whereby they are slid off the bolts 2.Then raise the flap B.

The straps proper, C,may be dispensed with, save their inner endportions, which are attached to the back of the sack by connecting theplates 6 by means of hinges or links 12, as shown in Fig. 7.

It is obvious the number of plates may be increased or diminished asjudgment or experience dictates.

What I claim is 1. In a mail-bag fastening the combination with amail-bag having a series of bolts secured to one part and provided withenlarged heads that project through holes in another part, of two seriesof flat metal plates flexibly connected and separated by a narrow slotwhichis of less width than the diameter of the heads of said bolts, saveat the free end of the series, where the slot is enlarged to receive thebolt-heads, and means for rigidly connecting the two series,substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination with a mail-bag having a folding flap and a series ofbolts with enlarged heads adapted to pass through holes in said fiap, oftwo straps which are secured to the back of the sack and slottedlengthwise, two series of fiat metal plates secured to the straps on theopposite sides of such slot, and separated by a narrow space thatterminates in an enlargement at the freeend of the straps, metal archesrigidly connecting the plates transversely, and a staple adapted toproject through the lapped ends of the straps, as shown and described.

FRED L. BOYNTON.

\Vitnesses:

O. W. SMITH, G. C NNINGHAM.

